Justin Kokolo
Justin Kokolo (died 21 November 1960) was a Congolese military officer who briefly served as deputy chief of staff of the Armée Nationale Congolaise.
Biography
Justin Kokolo was one of four Congolese soldiers in the Force Publique to achieve the rank of adjutant before the independence of the Belgian Congo. On 8 July 1960 he, as the most senior of the adjutants, was appointed by the Congolese government to be commander of Camp Leopold II.[1] He soon thereafter achieved the rank of colonel and became deputy chief of staff of the Armée Nationale Congolaise..[2]
On 21 November Kokolo attempted to force his way into the Ghanaian embassy in Léopoldville to carryout an extradition order against the chargé d'affaires. United Nations Peacekeepers on guard resisted, and in the ensuing conflict Kokolo and three of his men were killed. Once news of his death broke, soldiers rioted throughout the city. Kokolo was accorded a grand funeral along with his, which garnered in upwards of 100,000 mourners throughout the capital. Cam Leopold II was renamed in his honor.[2]
Citations
- ^ Kanza 1994, p. 192.
- ^ a b O'Ballance 1999, p. 38.
References
- O'Ballance, Edgar (1999). The Congo-Zaire Experience, 1960-98 (illustrated ed.). Springer. ISBN 9780230286481.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Kanza, Thomas R. (1994). The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo (expanded ed.). Rochester, Vermont: Schenkman Books, Inc. ISBN 0-87073-901-8.
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